Gal Haimovich, 49, of Israel, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit export control and smuggling violations for his role in a scheme to illegally ship aircraft parts and avionics from U.S. manufactures and suppliers to Russia, including for the benefit of sanctioned Russian airline companies.
As part of his plea agreement, Haimovich admitted that his scheme involved deceiving U.S. companies about the true destination of the goods at issue, and that the defendant and others attempted to conceal the scheme by submitting false information in export documents filed with the U.S. government.
A sentencing hearing has been set for Nov. 22.
According to court documents, Haimovich owned an international freight forwarding company that was an affiliate in a group of companies that did business in various countries, including the United States and Israel. Haimovich, through those companies, operated as a freight forwarder of choice for individuals and entities seeking to illegally export goods to Russia in violation of U.S. export control laws.
Between at least March 2022 and May 2023, Haimovich facilitated the export of aircraft parts and avionics, including those with missile technology applications, from the United States, through the Southern District of Florida, to various third-party transhippers on behalf of Russian customers. These Russian end customers routinely instructed Haimovich to deceive the U.S.-based manufacturers and suppliers about the ultimate destination of the goods.
For example, between April 2022 and April 2023, after the United States imposed additional restrictions on the export of goods to Russia in response to the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Haimovich arranged for more than 160 shipments to companies in the Maldives and United Arab Emirates that were responsible for the illicit transshipment of the goods to Russia.
One such shipment, of an air data module, occurred in August 2022. Haimovich, who had been hired by Siberia Airlines (doing business as S7 Airlines) to deliver the aircraft component to Russia, directed a co-conspirator to falsely inform the U.S. supplier that the part was destined for the Maldives; in fact, Haimovich knew that the part was destined for Russia for the benefit of S7 Airlines.
Haimovich also agreed that, between March 2022 and May 2023, he billed Russian customers, including Siberia Airlines (doing business as S7 Airlines), more than $2 million to have aircraft parts and avionics illegally exported from the United States to Russia. In connection with Haimovich’s plea, he agreed to the entry of a forfeiture money judgment in the sum of $2,024,435 and to forfeit various aircraft parts and components.
The Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement and the FBI investigated the case.